Heirs of Vanity- The Complete First Trilogy Box Set

by R J Hanson

  “Before your delicate bride, frail flower that she is, risks wilting completely at the thought of bloodshed?” Claire asked.

  Roland opened his mouth, but, in a rare display of wisdom, closed it again. Tindrakin shifted his eyes toward the door and looked longingly at the fields beyond. He’d never been in a dragon’s lair before. He’d only heard stories. However, he imagined it to be much like this.

  “It is Daeriv,” Eldryn said, changing direction rather smoothly, and reminding himself to finish this conversation with Roland another time. “Prince Ralston's scouts have not gone too deep into the northern woods however Daeriv’s initial defenses have been abandoned and he has made no raids since his defeat at Shrou Canyon.”

  “Shrou Canyon?” Claire asked.

  “The soldiers have taken to calling the box canyon where we defeated the Shrou Demon, ‘Shrou Canyon,’” Roland said, happy for this sudden change of topic and the reprieve it had won him.

  “Actually,” Tin interrupted, “they have taken to calling it ‘Roland’s Duel.’”

  “Some call it that,” Roland conceded. “The point is that nothing has been heard from him since that time. The Prince did send four of his best rangers to Daeriv’s home, in stealth. They had a map of the interior of the compound and were sent to gather information if available, and kill a general or two if possible. They have been gone for six months now and none have been heard from since they were sent out.”

  Each man lost himself in the hard work of the morning. Roland split firewood and shaped logs, Eldryn worked in the smithing area they had set up in the barn making horse shoes and re-shoeing the horses with Kullen’s help, and Tindrakin shoveled dirt working to level the areas where construction on the house would continue. Kodii, as was his custom, was often out on the plains or deep in the forest. Roland, Eldryn, Kullen, and Tin met Claire at the house for lunch and took their rest in the afternoon.

  After lunch Roland walked in the woods with Claire, Eldryn took Lance Chaser out for a ride, and Tindrakin took his fishing pole and headed for the nearby river. Kullen, with Travelin’ Jack at his heel, moved off into the woods to find Kodii.

  It would have surprised Roland and the others to know how easily Kullen found Kodii. It did not surprise Kodii in the least. Kodii didn’t understand Kullen, not completely, but knew enough of the nature of his gift to know some of the feats he was capable of.

  “Dog smell me?” Kodii asked.

  Kullen’s only reply was to point at a sparrow gliding through the branches above them. Kodii nodded. The communication between the two of them was simple, pure, and direct. Kodii had spent his life learning the ways of the jungles and forests and the creatures that called it their home. Kullen, through some blessing of birth, understood all those things instinctively.

  In their time together Kodii encouraged Kullen to ‘touch’ other animals with his mind. Kullen shied away from the idea at first, not wanting to hear the ‘mean’ thoughts of hawks, vultures, or snakes. However, over time, Kullen came to understand that he could not only hear them, but influence them as well. Kodii also taught Kullen the need for balance in the wild and how the wild was different than the world of man. The only world Kullen had known until now. Seeing them here, in this peace, how could one imagine the bloodshed to come.

  They all met for supper at the two-room log house that evening. As had been their habit, due to the small size of the current structure, they took their meal in the yard before the house. Sitting on benches in the grass of the yard, lit by the glow of lamps mounted on either side of the front door, they ate a large meal and discussed hiring full time servants for the home once quarters could be built. They also discussed hiring more soldiers, some to travel with them on their patrols and others to remain behind and make sure the house was secure. They talked of many things to the drone of crickets in the cool night air.

  “I know with winter coming on the river will slow but the fishing has been terrible,” Tindrakin said. “The water is lower than it has been in the five years I have been in Lawrec.”

  “Isn’t it the time of year that most of the fish will head out to sea anyway?” Roland asked.

  “Yes,” Eldryn replied. “They will find the ocean’s waters much warmer than those of the river in coming winter. Speaking of which, Tindrakin’s fishing has helped supply the dinner table, but shouldn’t we look into buying more livestock for out here as well?”

  “Yes,” Roland said. “We should be ready for that in the spring. We’ll have more of the house completed and the barn finished. We should be able to hire a few hands and buy some cattle and sheep. That will save us the trips into town with the wagon for supplies. Locab and his family will also be bringing milk and shares of the harvest.”

  “Do you think your father will be able to talk mother into coming here to stay with us?” Eldryn asked.

  “I hope so,” Roland said. “I miss her too. If we do hire some soldiers and hands then we’ll need her help keeping the household running smoothly.”

  “Once this one comes along,” Claire said rubbing her stomach and eyeing Roland, “I’ll need all the help I can get.”

  “After listening to Roland and Eldryn talk of their younger days, I’m sure that you’ll need a great deal of help,” Tindrakin chimed in cheerfully.

  That thought made Clairenese smile and it sent Roland and Eldryn’s minds back over the years. Roland hoped Velryk would come. He wanted his help in teaching his son. He still disagreed with Velryk’s dim view of the world but did not doubt his father’s wisdom.

  Talk went on well into the night as the group moved into the small front room, the kitchen, for their evening ale. The fireplace was fed with more wood and each of the group retired to bed. Roland and Clairenese held each other in a peaceful quiet that every husband and wife should know. They drifted into the land of dreams together.

  “Dam!” Roland shouted into the darkness of the room.

  Only the glow of fireplace embers could be seen. Clairenese awoke and sat up next to her startled husband.

  “What is it dear?” She asked as she scanned the room and the words of a powerful spell built behind her full lips.

  “It’s a dam,” Roland said. “I’m sure of it. We must ride as soon as possible.”

  Roland got out of bed and began pulling on his deer skin pants. After he pulled his dwarven made boots on, he hurried to the next room where Eldryn and Tindrakin lay asleep on their bedrolls in the kitchen.

  “Get up,” Roland said. “I know what he is planning and we had better move swiftly.”

  Roland went back into his room and began strapping on his armor and checking his weapons.

  “Claire, I need you to pack your things,” Roland said. “You and Kullen should go stay with your father until this is resolved.”

  “Husband, I love you,” Claire said. “However, I will do no such thing. This is my home now and I will not be chased from it by a knuckle-dragging mouth-breather of a sorcerer. Our son will grow up here and I will not abandon the work we have done so that his minions can destroy it.”

  “Claire, please.”

  “No,” Claire responded with metal in her voice. “You must be successful. Go, defend our home and our land. I will remain here. I will be here waiting for you when you return.”

  “Claire.”

  “Take these,” Claire said as she handed Roland two crystals. “I prepared them during your last patrol. The clear crystal, when broken, will teleport you and up to ten thousand pounds that you touch up to two hundred leagues in any direction you face. The green one, once broken, will teleport you and any ten thousand pounds back to here. Back to our home.”

  “Ten thousand pounds?” Roland asked.

  “Yes,” Claire said. “I thought that would cover you, your armor, your horse, Eldryn and all of his equipment, Kodii and Tindrakin. You should still have plenty of lee way so don’t be surprised if you take some ground with you.”

  Tindrakin rode hard for the town of Sk
ult with a hastily written letter from Sir Roland to Prince Ralston. Roland and Eldryn followed the river northwest and had been on the trail for two hours when the sun broke over the eastern horizon. Kodii was already miles ahead of them all. Roland had charged him with scouting the area around Skult and then reporting to Prince Ralston. Eldryn, as was his custom, had ridden with Roland blindly up to this point.

  “Roland, you know that I trust you and your judgment,” Eldryn said. “But I would like to know why we are pushing our horses so hard. So, what if he dams the river. It cuts off water to some of the lands but that is about it.”

  “It is much more dangerous than that,” Roland said, both of them raising their voices over the sound of the horses’ hooves striking the hard ground as they loped through the countryside. “Do you remember me telling you about my battle with Engiyadu? Do you remember how I got away from him?”

  “You crossed the river,” Eldryn said. “I still don’t see why that is so important.”

  “Engiyadu couldn’t cross the river,” Roland said. “The old men say most undead cannot cross running water. It is the ancient symbol of life and cannot be violated by unlife. Standing, stagnant water, or a body of water is one thing. They do not flow. It’s flowing water, like a river, that they cannot cross. What if Daeriv has more undead under his command than just Engiyadu? What if he has the power to raise all of those who have fallen in combat on the other side of the river?”

  “You mean he could resurrect his entire force as an undead army?” Eldryn asked with comprehension beginning to dawn on his face.

  “Not only his entire force,” Roland said. “Every dead man on the other side of that river. Prince Ralston, Lord of this land, has lost hundreds of soldiers in combat. What if even Prince Ralston’s dead soldiers were raised to fight against us?”

  “That would be an enormous army,” Eldryn said as the idea sunk in. “It would take a lot of time to prepare. That sort of army would be a great drain of power on any sorcerer or necromancer. That’s why he’s been so quiet!”

  “Exactly,” Roland said. “We would be facing not only an army of undead but legions of them. Some mighty warriors fell in battle with Daeriv’s forces. I would not want to face the creatures that they would become. If the river gets dammed near its mouth then nothing would stand between that army and Skult. After Skult, Vanthor would soon fall. Once Daeriv holds Vanthor then this whole land would be lost.”

  “Roland, we had better hurry.”

  The two companions rode on into the morning with urgency burning within them.

  “How far would you say that we are from the mouth of the river?” Roland asked Eldryn as they broke for a brief rest and a meal.

  “I would guess maybe two hundred fifty leagues,” Eldryn said. “Perhaps more.”

  “You know that if, I mean when, we find that dam, it is going to be heavily guarded,” Roland said.

  “I know,” Eldryn replied. “I’ve been thinking about that. It’s not only going to be guarded but we are going to have to figure out how to tear down an entire dam. That won’t be easy.”

  Both men looked over the ledge of the bank and down at the dwindling river.

  “It was four times that size not two days ago when we crossed it last,” Eldryn said.

  “They are almost finished with the dam,” Roland said. “They are probably lowering the flood gate now. Daeriv would not want the whole river cut down gradually. He would want to keep as much of the flow as possible until he was ready to cut it off completely. There must be a gate there that is being lowered and sealed into place. If I had to guess I would say that the undead army is less than a day’s march from here.”

  “We are still guessing, Roland,” Eldryn said. “We don’t know any of this.”

  Roland removed his helmet and ran his fingers through his coal black hair. Hair that was only interrupted by streaks of gray at the temples. Streaks of gray from where the Sands of Time had marked him.

  “I don’t know any of it,” Roland said. “But I feel that it is true.”

  “I do too, friend,” Eldryn said. “I guess I do too. I just hate it when you’re right about bad news.”

  The two friends mounted up again and began their ride. As the sun reached its peak over the land, Roland reined Road Pounder in.

  “We should make the jump from here,” Roland said. “It gives us maybe seven hours of daylight left. If we can’t get it done in seven hours, then we can’t get it done.”

  “Jump?” Eldryn asked.

  “I have a crystal from Claire,” Roland said. “It will allow us to teleport two hundred leagues toward the mouth of the river. This other crystal, the green one, will teleport us home. If something happens to me, I want you to use it.”

  “If something happens to you, it will happen to both of us.”

  Roland took the clear crystal in his gauntleted hand and touched Eldryn’s shoulder with the other. Roland faced northwest.

  “Wait!” Eldryn shouted.

  “What?”

  “We move based on what direction you’re facing, right?”

  “Yes.”

  “Well, shouldn’t we be certain of our bearing before leaping two hundred leagues?” Eldryn asked.

  “Excellent point,” Roland conceded.

  “Give me a moment,” Eldryn said.

  He dismounted and scavenged a stick to stab into the ground. He followed the shadow that the sun cast and took into account the time of year. He gently took the bridle of Road Pounder and adjusted the direction both Roland and the horse faced.

  “Ok,” Eldryn said. “I think that should be right.”

  “Should be?” Roland asked a bit uncertainly.

  “You were about to jump up two hundred leagues based on the guess of your nose,” Eldryn pointed out.

  “Fair point,” Roland said. “Alright, mount up and get ready.”

  Roland again placed his hand on Eldryn’s shoulder and checked his facing again. He then crushed the gem in his fist. The familiar dizzying effect rolled over both and they shook their heads in an attempt to steady their vision. The horses stumbled forward and Roland saw that he had brought a rather large clump of ground with them in the teleport.

  Roland’s faded blue eyes looked along the river to the northwest. He could see, far off in the distance, the dam under construction. It would take them another hour to reach it from here.

  “Do we have a plan?” Eldryn asked.

  “Yes,” Roland replied, sounding confident. “The plan is to overpower the guards and whatever beasts are working on the dam and then destroy the dam. It’s quite simple actually.”

  “And I was worried,” Eldryn said. “Roland, what is that to our east?”

  “It’s dust,” Roland said looking through the clear fall air. “The undead armies are charging now. No more stealth. They will try to cross the river in a rush.”

  “I guess we have a job to do.”

  Both men spurred their horses ahead.

  Daeriv had spent months raising, animating, his army. The magic needed to raise the hordes of undead that he commanded now had been draining to say the least. Daeriv had lost a great deal of weight. His eyes were sunken into his already sickly skull. Dark rings gathered at the bridge of his nose. He had lost four of his most powerful wizards to the drains of magical energy that he needed. The months of work and toil would be worth it. His spies had told him of the new homes that the citizens of Lawrec had built. Even this lucky boy, Roland, had built a home near the river.

  It had cost a considerable amount of coin to purchase the silence of Prince Ralston’s guard post near the dam. However, that coin could easily be gathered once those in the guard tower were bent to his will and their corpses marched to his commands.

  His armies would march on those homes and destroy them. The peasants of this land would fall before his charge and his undead would consume their children. Perhaps he could even capture the daughter of Lynneare. His spies said that she was with child. />
  An army of more than six thousand marched out of the depleted woods of the northern forest. They fanned out as they approached the river that separated southern Lawrec from Daeriv’s northern occupation. They were to cross in as thin a line as possible to allow a larger number to breach before the river’s flow could be restored. Thousands of undead marched, burning and feasting were their only desires.

  The day had begun like many others had for this family. When the morning sun broke over the eastern horizon, Garth had been in the fields for over an hour. Garth reaped wheat with a sickle while Whit and Clowie led the last cow milked back out into the pasture. Harriette, Garth’s wife and Whit and Clowie’s mother, had gathered the eggs already and was at work digging up some potatoes to go with breakfast.

  Garth was a man of nearly six feet in height and strong from his days spent in the fields. His hair was the same color as the golden wheat that he harvested and his eyes were a dark brown. He had been a soldier in Prince Ralston’s army years ago and that is how he had come to Lawrec. After his time in the army was done, he had enough money to bring his wife and sons to this land, a land that offered them such opportunity, from Stamdon.

  The Prince had offered any soldiers who had completed their duties honorably twenty acres of land for every forty that they farmed for the lord. The agreement was that after ten years of farming the twenty acres was deeded to the soldier and his family to do with as they chose. It was a generous offer but few had the stomach for the way of life they would face in Lawrec. They farmed a total of nearly one hundred and twenty acres just north of the river several leagues west of Skult. Their crops had been burned several times and Garth’s oldest son, Lanst, had been killed by an ogre not two years before while plowing. He was buried behind the barn next to Harriette’s father, Whitston, who had died of brain fever their first year here.

  Harriette was not a beautiful woman, not by the standards of those in the cities anyway, but she was sturdy and loyal to her husband. In Garth’s eyes she was a true beauty in body and in soul. Her hair was blonde, like Garth’s, but it was beginning to streak with gray. Her weather worn face and her callused hands showed that she was a woman accustomed to hard work. The kingdom of Lethanor had been much safer but her father, husband, and sons worked themselves like mules for very little gain. Here the opportunities were great but the losses had been greater. If they could hold this land and remain for two more years then Garth would be deeded forty acres in return for working eighty for the Prince. They had the chance for the first time in their lives of owning their own land.